How is this deal? Santro GLS

[DriverR]

I am in the process of buying a new car. The car in question is the Santro GLS, the current top-end model.

OTR Price is 3.9

No discounts but dealer is giving the following:
Insurance free
Mud flaps
Matting
MP3 player (JVC Don'w know which model)
4 speakers
Remote locking
Teflon coating

Financing is through SBI at 11.75%. EMIs coming to 7347 for 5 years

Is this a good deal?

The reason for Santro is as follows:
Good peer review on maintenance, millage and resale.

Why not the other cars?
1. Financial constraint. Max 4 lakhs OTR.
2. Monthly millage will be low as I'll be using the car only for about 2 day in a week, as I will be using my bike for daily commuting.
3. Had an Indica previously, therefore would prefer something different.
4. Not Spark as pricing had been too volatile. Plus for the same cost I'm getting a bigger and proven car.
5. Zen Estillo and Wagon R are the only alternative, but I prefer Santro to them.
6. i10 goes out of my budget. Plus even if I were to stretch the budget, I would not get the free accessories. Besides, I prefer the looks of the Santro to an i10 (Personal view)

Usage will be primarily city, but have dreams of driving around South India for a tour.

[Eddy]

I am not sure but the loan interest rate seems a little high. How much is the loan amount ?

Also, if its possible, haggle for cash discount instead of all the accessories mentioned especially stereo, remote locking and the teflon coating. You can get them all outside. Better quality at better prices.

[phamilyman]

loan rate is higher than i reacall a couple of months back from SBI. so kindly check.

with due respect, spark is quite ahead of santro, but not of i10. so either i10 or spark.

you are buying a car which is right at the end of the production lifecycle. with your usage, you will REALLY be hit with a massive loss in resale in a couple of years. just my tuppence.

baaki aapki marzi

[manish_symc]

Current SBI interest rates are-
For 3 Years - 11%
For 5 Years - 11.25%

[karanraheja]

As Phamilyman had suggested Santro is been quite old.for your budget you should wait & get a better car. Suzuki A Star and Splash will be launched in few months so opt for them . If you are in a hurry the best bet is i10 Era Version and also now dealers giving 10-15 k discount in i10.

[DriverR]

Thanks for the quick replies guys! I too had felt the loan percentage was high and had told the salesman the same.....twice! In anycase negotiations are still on. Not yet close to finalising the deal. I'm going for max loan, as I can afford to pay large EMIs, but not a large lumpsum downpayment. The mentioned loan is on 85% of the cost. Converting the free accessories into cash discounts sound good.

I'm looking at getting a car within 10 days time, so I cannot go for cars that have long waiting period like the Spark...sorry.

I was told that there is no discounts/freebees on the i10, which i why I did not consider it. Guess I'll have to ask him again.

On the whole, can you let me know everything said and done, does it make sense to go for the Santro IF I get a good deal? At one point of time, I would have happily gone for the Spark, but GM's pricing over the 6 months have made me think twice. I would prefer to put my money on a proven and stable car. At the moment, I see the Santro to be the best value for money given my criteria. I would have seriously considered the i10 Era if I got some disounts.

[karanraheja]

In Saturday THE HINDU s edition had shown Rs.10 k discount in i10 and i think dealers might give freebies or further 5k discount. How much does i10 Era cost in your city? Santro is quite a dated model as of now. i10 would be the best buy .

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by DriverR

On the whole, can you let me know everything said and done, does it make sense to go for the Santro IF I get a good deal? At one point of time, I would have happily gone for the Spark, but GM's pricing over the 6 months have made me think twice. I would prefer to put my money on a proven and stable car. At the moment, I see the Santro to be the best value for money given my criteria. I would have seriously considered the i10 Era if I got some disounts.

Santro is no doubt terrific value for value for money. No one is contesting that.
But the real issue is, Resale. It will have a very poor resale value, as Phamily said. Also, the marginally higher cost i10 would increase your EMI by only a few hundereds, but what you will get is a world car, with interior quality much ahead of Santro, and also better ride compared to the Santro. On top of that, you will have the happiness of owing the car of the Year.
Infact, i would go as far as recommending Zen Estilo or even WagonR over the Santro, since they have recently got face lifted and knowing Maruti, these models are not going to be phased out any soon (specially given the kind of volumes WR is selling.). Also, both he Marutis have higher resale value than the Santro.

In the end, its your call.

[phamilyman]

bhai,

you are confusing two very basic issues:
quality of car
quality of promotional packages.

GM is run by a bunch of complete idiots who are just making everyone go around in circles. The car itself is quite fantastic. try 3rd gear 20 kph with spark/santro and then also sit in rear seat and go over REALLY bad roads. silent engine is awesome too. plus tubeless tyres. plus they had service cost promise and mindblowing warranty. pricing i agree is by a bunch of people trying to play mindgames.

You can today go and see resale values of cars that have gone outta circulation. ofc, in 2-3 years you will be ok, but beyond that it will fall. you havent mentioned how long u want it.

[DriverR]

I plan to keep the car for quite some time.... at least 5 years if not more. In this way, I guess going for one of the new models does make sense. I think I'll see if I can get some discounts on the i10.

On a different note (I did not want to mentioned it earlier) my fiancee and soon-to-be spouse does not like the looks of the Spark. She prefers the i10 or Santro. So you see, when the Queen makes a hint, the King (by permission) has to understand and follow!

Thanks guys. All your inputs have been very helpful.... I'll keep you all posted.

[akrish01]

Originally Posted by DriverR

I am in the process of buying a new car. The car in question is the Santro GLS, the current top-end model.

OTR Price is 3.9

No discounts but dealer is giving the following:
Insurance free
Mud flaps
Matting
MP3 player (JVC Don'w know which model)
4 speakers
Remote locking
Teflon coating

Financing is through SBI at 11.75%. EMIs coming to 7347 for 5 years

Is this a good deal?

The reason for Santro is as follows:
Good peer review on maintenance, millage and resale.

Why not the other cars?
1. Financial constraint. Max 4 lakhs OTR.
2. Monthly millage will be low as I'll be using the car only for about 2 day in a week, as I will be using my bike for daily commuting.
3. Had an Indica previously, therefore would prefer something different.
4. Not Spark as pricing had been too volatile. Plus for the same cost I'm getting a bigger and proven car.
5. Zen Estillo and Wagon R are the only alternative, but I prefer Santro to them.
6. i10 goes out of my budget. Plus even if I were to stretch the budget, I would not get the free accessories. Besides, I prefer the looks of the Santro to an i10 (Personal view)

Usage will be primarily city, but have dreams of driving around South India for a tour.

Hello,
This is regarding the bank finance.

How much is the loan amount? I feel that the EMI quoted is quite high. Are you going through a DSA? If yes, drop that idea. Approach banks directly - you will get much better rates. I'm taking a loan of Rs. 3.25 lakhs for my Getz 1.3 GLS with Central Bank & my EMI is working out to Rs. 7,147/- for 5 years (approx 2,200 per lakh). This is not the best rate. ICICI & HDFC are offering around Rs. 2,170 per lakh but they don't allow part pre-payment of Outstanding Principal. Their foreclosure charges are also highest (5% of outstanding principal). Nationalized banks charge only 1% of outstanding principal as penalty for foreclosure. They also allow part pre-payment of outstanding principal. They're much more reliable as there is no fine print. Approach banks where you or one of your family members has an account. You'll get royal treatment.

Hope this helps

regards

Krishnan

[DriverR]

I'm begining to understand why there are not too many Era's and more of Magnas on the roads. For Rs 25K more one gets a better featured car. I was initially not keen on the i10 as for the Era I was just not getting value for money (Era OTR Rs 4.17 in Hyd). I think I would prefer to stretch my budget to 4.5 OTR, and go for a Magna instead.

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by DriverR

I'm begining to understand why there are not too many Era's and more of Magnas on the roads. For Rs 25K more one gets a better featured car. I was initially not keen on the i10 as for the Era I was just not getting value for money (Era OTR Rs 4.17 in Hyd). I think I would prefer to stretch my budget to 4.5 OTR, and go for a Magna instead.

Finally you got i10 in your head ! Since your ready to stretch your budget try stretching it till 4.8OTR and get the Swift Vxi !

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by DriverR

I think I would prefer to stretch my budget to 4.5 OTR,.....

HAHAHAH HOHOHOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought things like this happened only in the ICE section.

i10 is a good choice, IMHO. But I do not own it.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by karanraheja

Finally you got i10 in your head ! Since your ready to stretch your budget try stretching it till 4.8OTR and get the Swift Vxi !

Thats the power of T-BHP . Just kidding
Freeze the budget before looking for variants, else you will end up with a Dezire or SX4